Friday, March 30, 2012

After Eight Years

After work on Wednesday night, I met up with an old friend from high school for dinner. We had gotten really close our senior year in high school and, after graduating and going off to different colleges, we lost touch for about eight years. Eight years.

As I approached the restaurant on Wednesday, I spotted her outside and shouted out her name with a little wave. After we hugged and said the whole, "Oh my gosh! It's been so long!" thing, I took a look at her and she seemed the same. Older, yes. Still just as pretty. But, she seemed like the same fun girl I knew in high school. Nothing drastically different. It brought a sense of comfort to me. Like not much time had really passed by, although it did.

We got a table and chatted away for about twenty minutes before even ordering. Even once our food arrived, we didn't touch it for another fifteen minutes or so. Eight years sure left us a lot to catch up on. But, one of the biggest topics of conversation was the loss of our parents. My friend lost her dad suddenly one year ago.

I can't even tell you how comforting it is to have people who know what this feels like. Several of you have reached out to me, told me your stories of loss, and been there to help lift me. Sitting there across the table from a friend I had spent a significant amount of time with as a teenager, lost touch with for eight years, and then finally was reunited with after the hardest moments of our lives really helped me as well.

She "got" me. She just knew. I'd say one thing and she'd just start nodding her head. She had been through it before too. She gave me some amazing advice and I could tell we really bonded over the pain we had both felt.

So, about halfway through our dinner date, we ran into a guy from our high school. [Talk about an unexpected high school reunion!] He barely recognized me and said I look so different from how I did before. Seriously? I had no idea I looked that different. It must be the fact that I'm not blonde anymore? I figured I should let you be the judge:

So, what do you think? Do I look really different than I did eight years ago?

Also, don't you just love the senior portrait proof?

I learned that as the years go by, we change. Our hearts change, our minds change, our dreams change, our plans change. Heck, apparently our appearance even changes quite a bit. However, there are some people who really leave an impact on our hearts with the friendship we shared. It's good to know that even after eight years, the two of us found so much comfort and enjoyment in each other's company. God brought us back in touch with one another. I know He did :)

Okay I do NOT think you look very different! I feel like I look wayyyyy different than I did in HS, but it's easy to tell those pictures are of the same person!

I love reconnecting with people you've lost touch with and having it be so "easy" when you reunite. I totally feel like God brings people in our lives for a reason, whether they were there before or not. So glad you were able to be reunited with her :)

Oh my goodness, what an amazing post Chelsea. Imagine. After 8 years seeing an old friend, someone who just gets how you are feeling in this particular moment at this particular time. It truly is a gift from God.